The United Arab Emirates announced onTuesday it will move its weekends to Saturday and Sunday at the start of the new year. The gulf state has long observed a Friday-Saturday weekend.
The move comes as the
oil-rich country looks to strengthen its tourist appeal and attract
international business while keeping up with mounting competition from
neighboring Saudi Arabia.
#UAE announces today that it will transition to a four and a half day working week, with Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday forming the new weekend.
— UAEGOV (@UAEmediaoffice) December 7, 2021
All Federal government departments will move to the new weekend from January 1, 2022. pic.twitter.com/tQoa22pai9
The announcement was published onTuesday by state news
agency WAM.
ABU DHABI, 7th December, 2021 (WAM) --
The UAE Government will adopt a new four and a half day working week, effective
from 1st January, 2022.
The move applies to Federal government
entities and comes alongside new working hours, with Monday to Thursday
workdays now starting at 7:30 am and ending at 3:30 pm, and Friday working
hours from 7:30 am - 12:00 pm.
Government staff will have the
flexibility to make arrangements to work from home on Fridays, as well as to
arrange their working hours on a flexi-time basis.
The UAE is the first nation in the world
to introduce a national working week shorter than the global five-day week.
The extended weekend is part of the UAE
government’s efforts to boost work-life balance and enhance social wellbeing,
while increasing performance to advance the UAE’s economic competitiveness.
Adopting an agile working system will
enable the UAE to rapidly respond to emerging changes and enhance wellbeing in
the workplace.
From an economic perspective, the new
working week will better align the UAE with global markets, reflecting the
country’s strategic status on the global economic map. It will ensure smooth
financial, trade and economic transactions with countries that follow a
Saturday/Sunday weekend, facilitating stronger international business links and
opportunities for thousands of UAE-based and multinational companies.
The new working week will also bring the
UAE’s financial sector into closer alignment with global real-time trading and
communications-based transactions such as those driving global stock markets,
banks and financial institutions. The move will boost trading opportunities and
add to the flexible, secure and enjoyable lifestyle the UAE offers to its
citizens and residents.
The Federal Authority for Government
Human Resources proposed the new workweek following comprehensive benchmarking
and feasibility studies reflecting potential impacts of the move on the
economy, social and family ties and the overall wellbeing of people in the UAE.
From The Washington Post and Wam (edited)
